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Justinian I · The Digest of Justinian §35.2.81.pr-35.2.81.2

Inclusion of Usufruct and Exclusion of Dowry in the Falcidian Law

Passage 5526 of 9271 · Latin

Summary

This section specifies that a bequeathed usufruct is included in the Falcidian law calculation because it is divisible, whereas a bequeathed-back dowry and items purchased for the wife are excluded.

[IDEM libro octauo decimo ad edictum prouinciale. ] §35.2.81.prSed usus fructus legatus uenit in computationem legis Falcidiae, nam diuisionem recipit adeo, ut, si duobus legatus fuerit, ipso iure ad singulos partes pertineant.
[THE SAME, From the eighteenth book on the provincial edict.] But a bequeathed usufruct enters into the calculation of the Falcidian law, for it admits of division to such an extent that, if it has been bequeathed to two persons, shares belong to each by operation of law.
§35.2.81.1Dos relegata extra rationem legis Falcidiae est, scilicet quia suam rem mulier recipere uidetur.
A dowry bequeathed back is outside the calculation of the Falcidian law, namely because the woman is deemed to receive her own property.
§35.2.81.2Sed et de his quoque rebus, quae mulieris causa emptae paratae essent, ut hae quoque extra modum legis essent, nominatim ipsa Falcidia lege expressum est.
But also concerning those things which were bought and prepared for the sake of the wife, it is expressly stated in the Falcidian law itself that these too should be outside the limit of the law.

Notes

  1. 35.2.81.pripso iure — An ablative phrase meaning 'by operation of law' (ipso jure). It indicates that a usufruct bequeathed to multiple persons is automatically split into individual shares by law, without needing a division agreement or partition procedure among the heirs.
  2. 35.2.81.1dos relegata — Refers to a 'bequeathed-back dowry'. This is a legacy by which a husband leaves to his wife the dowry he received upon marriage. Since it is in substance the return of the woman's own property, it is not regarded as a pure depletion of the inheritance and is therefore exempt from the Falcidian law.
  3. 35.2.81.2expressum est — An impersonal passive verb ('it is expressed/stated'). It governs the prepositional phrase beginning with 'de' ('concerning those things...'). The 'ut' clause ('ut... essent') functions substantively to express the content of the provision.

Cite this passage

Justinian I, The Digest of Justinian §35.2.81.pr-35.2.81.2. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi2806.phi002.humanitext-lat1:35.2.81.pr-35.2.81.2

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